Apparatus, system, and method for packet switching

ABSTRACT

An apparatus is provided for control of a plurality of forwarding switches using a network controller. The network controller executes a routing configuration application that analyzes interconnections between the forwarding switches to identify a topology of the network, determine label switched paths (LSPs) between the forwarding switches, and transmits the next hop routes to the forwarding switches. The forwarding switches use the next hop routes to route packets through the network according to a multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) protocol. Each LSP includes one or more next hop routes defining a forwarding address associated with one forwarding switch to an adjacent forwarding switch.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosure generally relates to computer networks, and moreparticularly, to an apparatus, system, and method for packet switching.

BACKGROUND

Networks, such as the Internet, have numerous networking and computingmachines that are involved in transmitting data between machines in thenetwork. One such networking machine is the router. A router is highlycomplex piece of networking equipment that directs data packets througha network from one machine to another. Generally speaking, a routerreceives packets of data, determines the destination for those datapackets, and then transmits the data packets to the correct port that isconnected with the destination or the next stop on a path to thedestination. There are numerous decisions and computations involved withdetermining the next hop on the path to the destination and the routermakes those decisions for enormous amounts of data every second. Aswitch is a similar type networking device that directs packets of datathrough a network, albeit some switches may make fewer and lesssophisticated decisions as to the next hop for a data packet.Regardless, both routers and switches are highly sophisticated andcomplex pieces of networking equipment.

Conventional routers and switches are typically sold as a verticallyintegrated device, with a full computer hardware solution integratedwith a full software suite. While providing excellent functionality,such vertically integrated devices are very expensive. Moreover, suchvertically integrated devices do not provide network providers with thecapability to customize the router or switch, to deploy a lighter weightdevice (one with less software, for example), or to otherwise customizethe device or provide unique services or rates within the network.

It is with these inadequacies and concerns in mind, among others, thatvarious aspects of the present disclosure were conceived and developed.

SUMMARY

An apparatus is provided for control of a plurality of forwardingswitches using a network controller. The network controller executes arouting configuration application that analyzes interconnections betweenthe forwarding switches to identify a topology of the network, determinelabel switched paths (LSPs) between the forwarding switches, andtransmits the next hop routes to the forwarding switches. The forwardingswitches use the next hop routes to route packets through the networkaccording to a multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) protocol. Each LSPincludes one or more next hop routes defining a forwarding addressassociated with one forwarding switch to an adjacent forwarding switch.

According to another aspect, a network controlling method includesanalyzing, by a network controller, a plurality of interconnectionsbetween a plurality of forwarding switches of a communication network toidentify a network topology of the communication network, determining atleast one label switched path (LSP) between the forwarding switches, andtransmitting the next hop routes to the forwarding switches. Theforwarding switches use the next hop routes to route packets through thenetwork according to a multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) protocol.Each LSP includes one or more next hop routes defining a forwardingaddress associated with one forwarding switch to an adjacent forwardingswitch.

According to yet another aspect, a communication network system includesmultiple forwarding switches interconnected with one another, andcontrolled by a network controller. The network controller executes arouting configuration application that analyzes interconnections betweenthe forwarding switches to identify a topology of the network, determinelabel switched paths (LSPs) between the forwarding switches, andtransmits the next hop routes to the forwarding switches. The forwardingswitches use the next hop routes to route packets through the networkaccording to a multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) protocol. Each LSPincludes one or more next hop routes defining a forwarding addressassociated with one forwarding switch to an adjacent forwarding switch.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of thedisclosure will be apparent from the following description of particularembodiments of the disclosure, as illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings in which like reference characters refer to the same partsthroughout the different views. The drawings are not necessarily toscale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles ofthe disclosure.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication network conforming toaspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2A illustrates an example process that may be performed to manageand control routes through a communication network according to theteachings of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2B illustrates an example process for routing packets through acommunication network according to the teachings of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 3 is an example computing system that may implement various systemsand methods discussed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects of the present disclosure involve a networking architecture andrelated apparatus and methods for packet switching using one or moresoftware defined networking (SDN) controllers deployed in a network andin communication with any number of non-vertically integrated forwardingswitches. Unlike a conventional vertically integrated router or switchthat operates distributing routing protocols, such as open shortest pathfirst (OSPF), border gateway protocol (BGP), or intermediate system tointermediate system (IS-IS), and independently calculates routingtables, the forwarding switches in the present architecture do notnecessarily independently calculate routing tables. Instead, theforwarding switch may be a generic hardware device with forwarding planehardware, such as one or more line cards that provide the ports forconnecting to other forwarding switches, needed to forward packets. Theforwarding switch may also include a light weight operating system andcustomized applications, and a SDN controller (or controllers) that runsrouting protocols for the network and provides the forwarding paths tothe forwarding switches.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication network 100 conforming toaspects of the present disclosure. In this example, information flowsthrough a backbone network 102 to and from a customer network, andparticularly at a customer edge (CE) router 106 of the customer network104. For the sake of simplicity, only one customer edge router isillustrated; however, numerous customers of the backbone network 102along with numerous edge devices may transmit and receive informationover the backbone network 102. Also, for the sake of simplicity, thediagram depicts another customer network 108 with a device 110 thatreceives or transmits information over the backbone network 102 througha provider edge router 112. Additionally, while the term ‘customernetwork’ is used herein, the network architecture, devices, and methodsdiscussed herein are applicable to other embodiments where acustomer/provider arrangement does not necessarily exist. Similarly,while the illustrated network is a backbone network, the architectureand devices set out herein are applicable to other forms of networks. Inany event, the (CE) router 106 is coupled with a provider edge (PE)device 114 that provides a communication point between the customernetwork 104 and the backbone network 102.

Generally speaking, various devices within the customer network 104,such as local area network devices, are connected to the CE router 106.The CE router 106 is in communication with the provider edge device 114,which may be connected using any type of connection, such as a gigabitEthernet (GigE) connection. In this example network implementation, thePE device 114 is a conventional vertically integrated device such as arouter. The PE device 114 is in communication with a gateway 116 of thebackbone network 102. The PE device 114 is configured to interoperatewith legacy customer devices, such as the CE router 106, that thebackbone network may not control or operate. Thus, the network, by usinga conventional PE device 114, may maintain interoperability withconventional devices and protocols without involving any change at theCE router 106 or customer network 104.

Within the backbone network 102, however, one or more conventionalrouters or switches may be replaced with forwarding switches (P1-P5)whose routes are determined and controlled by one or more SDNcontrollers 120. The forwarding switches (P1-P5) are relativelynon-complex devices in that they are not required to implement routingfunctionality or conform to other networking standards associated withother networking devices. For example, each forwarding switch mayinclude generic hardware, such as one or more line cards that provideforwarding plane hardware and ports for connecting to other forwardingswitches needed to forward packets. Rather than each forwarding switchcalculating its own routing information, such as routing tableinformation, the SDN controller 120 determines routing information to beused by each forwarding switch and transmits this routing information tobe used by the forwarding switches for routing packets through thecommunication network 102.

Although the particular embodiment shown only includes one SDNcontroller 120, other embodiments may include two or more SDNcontrollers 120 that function together to determine and control routesthrough the network 102. The scale and configuration of the network 102will play a role in determining how many SDN controllers 120 are used inthe network 102. For example, in a small geographically localizednetwork, it may be sufficient to have one SDN controller 120. In aglobal network however, multiple SDN controllers 120 may be deployed ateach data center where forwarding switches and other networkingcomponents are located. As another example, a large, internationalnetwork may include multiple SDN controller 120 distributed at varyinglocations for distributing the processing load of each SDN controller120 and providing fault tolerance.

The forwarding switches (P1-P5) communicate with the SDN controller 120to receive routing information to be used for routing packets throughthe backbone network 102. In a first embodiment, the SDN controller 120may compute routes and forward those routes to the forwarding switches(P1-P5). That is, high speed memory within the line cards areprepopulated with routes computed by the SDN controller 120 prior torouting packets through the backbone network 102. In another embodiment,the SDN controller 120 may respond to queries from each forwardingswitch concerning packet forwarding and provide routes to the forwardingswitch after it has received the packets. In other embodiments, the twoembodiments described above may also be practiced in combination.

Routing in the described architecture may be performed based onmultiprotocol label switching (MPLS), or more specifically MPLS labels,as opposed to using layer 2 or layer 3 headers. Thus, for example, asopposed to analyzing each IPv4 or IPv6 address in a data packet, thepresent architecture may make forwarding decisions at a higher layer ofabstraction where forwarding decisions are made without analyzing thespecific IP address or other layer 2 or layer 3 header information, butrather an MPLS label that represents a plurality of IP addresses orother Layer-3 or Layer-2 header information. Such an implementation isparticularly useful in a backbone network setting where hardwareresources, such as table lookup capacities, are limited. Additionally,MPLS labels are generally shorter and easier to decipher than layer 2 orlayer 3 information in each packet, thus allowing the use of high speed,hardwired routing mechanisms, such as application specific integratedcircuits (ASICS) that are relatively inexpensive to implement andmaintain.

In one embodiment, multiple forwarding switches (P1-P2) may beconfigured as a multi-chassis link aggregation group (MC-LAG) for one ormore edge devices (e.g., provider edge device 114 and/or provider edgerouter 112). Such a configuration may provide certain benefits, such asreduction of a configuration for static LSP label mappings on the edgedevices. Specifically, only one or a few static LSP mappings for eachedge device may be required, and not one for each forwarding switchprovisioned in the network.

FIG. 2A illustrates an example process that may be performed by the SDNcontroller 120 to manage and control routes through the communicationnetwork 102 according to the teachings of the present disclosure. Inoperation 200, the SDN controller 120 analyzes the network, which in thesimplified example includes forwarding switches (P1-P5), to identify theinterconnections between the forwarding switches. Here, it can be seenthat P1 is connected to P3 and P4, P2 is connected to P3 and P4, P3 isconnected to P5 as well as directly to the external provider edge router112, and P4 is connected to P5, which also has a connection to theexternal provider edge router. These interconnections represent possiblepaths through the network. Thus, for example, a packet may traverse thenetwork from P1 to P4 to P5, and a packet may also traverse the networkfrom P1 to P3 to P5. The aggregate of these interconnections representthe topology of the network.

In one embodiment, the SDN controller 120 discovers the forwardingswitches (P1-P5), such as through the link layer discovery protocol(LLDP) and the connections between. In other embodiments, any suitabletype of protocol may be used to discover the topology of thecommunication network 102. Additionally, the SDN controller 120 learnsthe topology of the backbone network 120 using multiple characteristicsof each interconnection commonly referred to as an “IGP metric.” Thesecharacteristics may be used by the SDN controller 120 to determine oneor more optimal paths for packets through the network 120.

Once the network topology is understood, the SDN controller 120 mayapply any number of possible routing algorithms, as well as customizedrouting algorithms, to the network topology to define MPLS paths throughthe network in operation 210. For example, a least cost routingalgorithm, a dijkstra routing algorithm, a geographic routing algorithm,hierarchal routing algorithm, and/or a multipath routing algorithm maybe used. In another example, the SDN controller may include a customizedroute for specific routing information. In yet another example, multiplerouting algorithms may be used in combination.

According to one aspect, the SDN controller 120 implements amultiprotocol label switching (MPLS) mechanism for forwarding packetsthrough the network 102 in which each route is referred to as a labelswitched path (LSP). To accomplish this, the SDN controller 120 executesa label distribution protocol (LDP) that generates label mappinginformation for the communication network and transmits the labelmapping information to each forwarding switch in the backbone network102. That is, the SDN controller 120 designates unique labels for eachforwarding switch in the backbone network 102 that are used for routingpackets through the backbone network 102.

The SDN controller 120 determines the routes according to an MPLSprotocol. The MPLS protocol is a mechanism used in data networks inwhich packets are routed through nodes (e.g. edge devices and forwardingswitches) of the network using labels appended to each packet, ratherthan by inspection of each layer 2 or layer 3 address of each packet. Sofor example, regardless of the least cost routing route, the SDNcontroller 120 may determine a LSP and identify that path with a label(e.g., XYZ) such that any packet with that routing label may be directedto traverse the network according to next hop routes determined by theSDN controller 120, and downloaded to each forwarding switch (P1-P5).

In such an architecture and in contrast to an architecture in which theSDN controller determines the LSPs (e.g., routes) through the network,the forwarding switches do not require MPLS signaling or labeldistribution protocols (e.g.: LDP, RSVP, and/or BGP) to exchange MPLSlabels. That is, the forwarding switches (P1-P5) may be void of anyrouting functionality thus reducing their costs while enhancing thereliability by reducing the complexity of hardware and software used inthe forwarding switches.

Each LSP extends from one edge device to another edge device (e.g.,provider edge device 114 and provider edge router 112) and includes oneor more next hop routes to be performed by any forwarding switch (P1-P5)along that route. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, one particular LSP122 may extend through provider edge device 114, forwarding switch P1,forwarding switch P3, and end at provider edge router 112. In this case,the SDN controller 120 determines a next hop route 124 a that instructsforwarding switch P1 to forward packets along that LSP 122 to forwardingswitch P3, and another next hop route 124 b that instructs forwardingswitch P3 to forward packets along that path to provider edge router112. Thus, when packets associated with that particular LSP 122 aresubsequently received at the forwarding switch P1, it forwards thepackets to forwarding switch P3 according to its received next hop route124 a, which is then forwarded to provider edge router 112 by forwardingswitch P3 according to its received next hop route 124 b.

To generate LSPs, the SDN controller 120 includes a route reflector (RR)function that interfaces with a border gateway protocol (BGP) instanceexecuted on each of the provider edge device 114 and provider edgerouter 112 to learn destinations of all packet traffic through thebackbone network 102. The RR function uses the BGP instance to resolvenext hop routes for each adjacent node (e.g., provider edge device 114,provider edge router 112, and forwarding switches (P1-P5)) in thebackbone network 120. The SDN controller 120 also stores loopbackinterface information for each edge device (i.e., provider edge device120, and provider edge router 112) since that is what is used by the BGPto resolve its next hop route to other nodes. Additionally, the SDNcontroller 120 uses the stored loopback interface information about eachedge device to resolve the source and destinations of the LSPs.

Now referring to an example packet from the first customer networkdestined for the second customer network the packet from (CE) router toa conventional ingress provider edge router will conduct a conventionalborder gateway protocol (BGP) routing look-up using an IP destinationaddress of the packet, where the look-up occurs in a BGP routing table.This result of the lookup in the BGP routing table is the next-hop IPaddress of the loopback interface of an egress PE, and an associatedMPLS tunnel label with that loopback interface of the egress PE, at thefar-end of the network where there is a customer (destination) networkattached to that egress PE router. The ingress PE router then adds thatMPLS label to the packet and forwards the MPLS encapsulated packet tothe Backbone label switch router (P1 or P2). Thus, packets arriving atthe backbone label switch router (forwarding switches P1 and P2) willcause the MPLS label switch router to perform a lookup based on theincoming MPLS label to determine the appropriate LSP that is used toforward the MPLS packet to the next forwarding switch and, ultimately,to the destination PE at the remote end of the network. The key point isthat forwarding entries (LSP entries) in each label forwarding switchare provided solely by the SDN controller.

In one embodiment, the SDN controller 120 uses stored loopback interfaceinformation of all PE devices to generate label forwarding informationbase (LFIB) entries that are subsequently transmitted to each edgedevice (e.g., provider edge router 112 and provider edge device 114) inthe backbone network 102. The LFIB is transmitted to each edge deviceusing any suitable protocol, such as a netconf protocol, a command lineinterface (CLI) protocol, or an openflow protocol. Once the LFIB isreceived by each edge device, the LFIB is processed by the edge deviceto identify next hop routes (i.e., routing actions) corresponding witheach LSP across the Backbone to a remote PE. The forwarding switches,(P1-P5), receive routing information for each next hop route, (egress PELoopback interface), to LSP mapping from LFIB information generated bythe SDN controller 120. Certain embodiments including such functionalitymay reduce the complexity of the forwarding switches by placing routeresolution functionality in the SDN controller 120 and edge devicesrather than in the forwarding switches. In some embodiments, the edgedevices may also generate additional LFIB actions to enablelabel-swapping and/or label pushing by the forwarding switches, whenthese devices interface with nodes of other networks, such as a broaderinter-city backbone network.

In one embodiment, one or more bypass LSPs (e.g., routes) may bedetermined for each LSP thus providing for increased reliability in theevent that the primary LSP fails or begins to operate below a specifiedlevel of performance.

In operation 220, the next hop routes (e.g., one-hop of a LSP), are thentransmitted to several individual forwarding switches to construct anedge-to-edge LSP (i.e., tunnel) across the Backbone network 102. TheseMPLS LSP's may be loaded into line card memory of the forwardingswitches.

Although FIG. 2A describes one example of a process that may beperformed by the SDN controller 120 to manage and control routes throughthe communication network 102, the features of disclosed process may beembodied in other specific forms without deviating from the spirit andscope of the present disclosure. For example, the disclosed operationsmay be performed sequentially or simultaneously with one another. Asanother example, the disclosed operations may be performed in anysuitable sequence and not just in the sequence described herein.

FIG. 2B illustrates an example process for routing packets through thecommunication network 102 according to the teachings of the presentdisclosure. More specifically, FIG. 2B describes various actions thatmay be taken after the next hop routes are generated and stored in theforwarding switches as described above with reference to FIG. 2A. Inoperation 250, the forwarding switches (P1-P5) route packets through thecommunication network 102 according to their programmed next hop routes.

In operation 260, each forwarding switch (P1-P5) reacts autonomously toa local link-failure and immediately switches traffic onto a Bypass LSP.A bypass LSP generally refers to another LSP that is redundant to themain path, but routed through differing forwarding switches such that,in the event that a forwarding switch through which the main LSP travelsshould fail, packets may be transferred over to the bypass LSP. Theforwarding switch may react to any failure indication, such as aLoss-of-Signal (LOS) or Loss-of-Light (LOL) to initiate switchover.Additionally, each forwarding switch may also use a local, onboardimplementation of Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP) and/or aBidirectional Forwarding Detection (BFD) to detect failures, which maynot be adequately noticed by the LOS or LOL indications. In effect, theforwarding switch would autonomously perform an action similar to thatof the Fast Re-Route Point-of-Local-Repair (PLR) where it automaticallyappends a new MPLS label to packets to temporarily detour traffic aroundthe failure. In addition, the forwarding switch would notify the SDNController 120 of the failure such that the SDN controller 120 couldrecalculate and re-optimize primary LSP's through the network, asappropriate. This may include programming new primary LSPs through thenetwork and performing Make-Before-Break (MBB) actions, as required.

In operation 270, each forwarding switch (P1-P5) manages time-to-live(TTL) exceeded packets. In one embodiment, each forwarding switchdetermines any TTL exceeded packets, generates an Internet controlmessage protocol (ICMP) Destination Unreachable response, encapsulatesthat with the original MPLS (outermost) label set and forwarding theencapsulated packet to the egress edge device associated with the LSP.In another embodiment, the forwarding switch transmits informationassociated with the TTL exceeded packet to the SDN controller 120 suchthat the SDN controller 120 generates a MPLS label stack that may beused for transmitting the TTL exceeded packet back to the ingress edgedevice. In yet another embodiment, the SDN controller 120 may wrap theICMP TTL exceeded message in a uniform datagram protocol (UDP) (e.g.,GRE or IP) tunnel that directs the TTL exceeded packet back to theingress edge device associated with the LSP.

Although FIG. 2B describes one example of a process that may beperformed by the forwarding switches (P1-P5) for routing packets throughthe communication network 102, the features of disclosed process may beembodied in other specific forms without deviating from the spirit andscope of the present disclosure. For example, the disclosed operationsmay be performed after or simultaneously with the operations describedabove with respect to FIG. 2A. As another example, the forwardingswitches (P1-P5) may perform additional, fewer, or different operationsthan those operations as described in the present example.

The described systems, methods and apparatus, provide several advantagesover conventional systems. For example, the system may providecustomizable network services and allow for much more rapid introductionof new services. The system may be more robust as compared to verticallyintegrated system (particularly at software) which have tended to havemore bugs simply resulting from the sheer complexity of conventionalvertically integrated systems that are required to include manyfunctions for conforming standards for interoperating autonomously withother devices. A substantial portion of the software complexity of theforwarding switches are provided in the SDN controller 120 allowing forfar less expensive and complicated hardware switches relative toconventional routers and switches. Finally, the overall system(combination of SDN controller and hardware switches) can also becustomizable to provide unique or customized routes not otherwisedecided by conventional routing protocols.

FIG. 3 is an example computing system 300 that may implement varioussystems and methods discussed herein. The computing system may embodythe SDN controller 120 discussed herein. The computing system may alsoprovide the functionality of the forwarding switches (P1-P5) asdiscussed herein.

The computing system 300 includes at least one processor 310, at leastone communication port 315, a main memory 320, a removable storage media325, a read-only memory 330, a mass storage device 335, and an I/O port340. Processor(s) 310 can be any known processor, such as, but notlimited to, an Intel® Itanium® or Itanium 2® processor(s), AMD® Opteron®or Athlon MP® processor(s), or Motorola® lines of processors. Thecommunication port 315 can be any type, such as an RS-232 port for usewith a modem based dial-up connection, a 10/100 Ethernet port, a Gigabitport using copper or fiber, or a USB port. Communication port(s) 315 maybe chosen depending on a network such as a Local Area Network (LAN), aWide Area Network (WAN), or any network to which the computer system 300connects. The computing system 300 may be in communication withperipheral devices (e.g., display screen 350 and a user input device516) via Input/Output (I/O) port 340.

Main memory 320 can be Random Access Memory (RAM) or any other dynamicstorage device(s) commonly known in the art. Read-only memory 330 can beany static storage device(s) such as Programmable Read-Only Memory(PROM) chips for storing static information such as instructions forprocessor 310. Mass storage device 335 can be used to store informationand instructions. For example, hard disks such as the Adaptec® family ofSmall Computer Serial Interface (SCSI) drives, an optical disc, an arrayof disks such as Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID), such asthe Adaptec® family of RAID drives, or any other mass storage devices,may be used.

The bus 305 communicatively couples processor(s) 310 with the othermemory, storage and communications blocks. The bus 305 can be aPCI/PCI-X, SCSI, or Universal Serial Bus (USB) based system bus (orother) depending on the storage devices used. Removable storage media325 can be any kind of external hard drives, floppy drives, OMEGA® ZipDrives, Compact Disc-Read Only Memory (CD-ROM), Compact Disc-Re-Writable(CD-RW), Digital Video Disk-Read Only Memory (DVD-ROM), etc.

The computer system 300 includes one or more processors 310. Theprocessor 310 may include one or more internal levels of cache (notshown) and a bus controller or bus interface unit to direct interactionwith the processor bus 305. The main memory 320 may include one or morememory cards and a control circuit (not shown), or other forms ofremovable memory, and may store a routing configuration application 365including computer executable instructions, that when run on theprocessor, implement the methods and system set out herein, such as themethod discussed with reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B. Other forms ofmemory, such as a mass storage device 335, a read only memory 330, and aremovable storage memory 325, may also be included and accessible, bythe processor (or processors) 310 via the bus 305.

The computer system 300 may further include a communication port 315connected to a transport and/or transit network 355 by way of which thecomputer system 300 may receive network data useful in executing themethods and system set out herein as well as transmitting informationand network configuration changes and MPLS routes or other routesdetermined thereby. The computer system 300 may include an I/O device340, or other device, by which information is displayed, such as atdisplay screen 350, or information is input, such as input device 345.The input device 345 may be alphanumeric input device, includingalphanumeric and other keys for communicating information and/or commandselections to the processor. The input device 345 may be another type ofuser input device including cursor control, such as a mouse, atrackball, or cursor direction keys for communicating directioninformation and command selections to the processors 310 and forcontrolling cursor movement on the display device 350. In the case of atablet device, the input may be through a touch screen, voice commands,and/or Bluetooth connected keyboard, among other input mechanisms. Thesystem set forth in FIG. 3 is but one possible example of a computersystem that may employ or be configured in accordance with aspects ofthe present disclosure.

In the present disclosure, the methods disclosed may be implemented assets of instructions or software readable by a device. Further, it isunderstood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the methodsdisclosed are instances of example approaches. Based upon designpreferences, it is understood that the specific order or hierarchy ofsteps in the method can be rearranged while remaining within thedisclosed subject matter. The accompanying method claims presentelements of the various steps in a sample order, and are not necessarilymeant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.

The described disclosure may be provided as a computer program product,or software, that may include a machine-readable medium having storedthereon instructions, which may be used to program a computer system (orother electronic devices) to perform a process according to the presentdisclosure. A machine-readable medium includes any mechanism for storinginformation in a form (e.g., software, processing application) readableby a machine (e.g., a computer). The machine-readable medium mayinclude, but is not limited to, magnetic storage medium (e.g., floppydiskette), optical storage medium (e.g., CD-ROM); magneto-opticalstorage medium, read only memory (ROM); random access memory (RAM);erasable programmable memory (e.g., EPROM and EEPROM); flash memory; orother types of medium suitable for storing electronic instructions.

The description above includes example systems, methods, techniques,instruction sequences, and/or computer program products that embodytechniques of the present disclosure. However, it is understood that thedescribed disclosure may be practiced without these specific details.

It is believed that the present disclosure and many of its attendantadvantages will be understood by the foregoing description, and it willbe apparent that various changes may be made in the form, constructionand arrangement of the components without departing from the disclosedsubject matter or without sacrificing all of its material advantages.The form described is merely explanatory, and it is the intention of thefollowing claims to encompass and include such changes.

While the present disclosure has been described with reference tovarious embodiments, it will be understood that these embodiments areillustrative and that the scope of the disclosure is not limited tothem. Many variations, modifications, additions, and improvements arepossible. More generally, embodiments in accordance with the presentdisclosure have been described in the context of particularimplementations. Functionality may be separated or combined in blocksdifferently in various embodiments of the disclosure or described withdifferent terminology. These and other variations, modifications,additions, and improvements may fall within the scope of the disclosureas defined in the claims that follow.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus comprising: a network controllercomprising at least one processor and at least one memory to store arouting configuration application that is executed by the at least oneprocessor to: analyze a plurality of interconnections between aplurality of forwarding switches of a communication network to identifya network topology of the communication network; determine at least onelabel switched path (LSP) between the forwarding switches, the LSPcomprising one or more next hop routes each defining a forwardingaddress associated with one forwarding switch to an adjacent forwardingswitch; determine at least one bypass LSP that is redundant to one ormore LSPs determined by the routing configuration application, whereineach forwarding switch executes at least one of a Link AggregationControl Protocol (LACP) and a Bidirectional Forwarding Detection (BFD)to detect a failure in the LSP and perform switchover to the bypass LSP;transmit the next hop routes to the forwarding switches, the forwardingswitches using the next hop routes of the bypass LSP to route packetsthrough the network according to a multiprotocol label switching (MPLS)protocol, wherein the network controller comprises a route reflector(RR) function that interfaces with a border gateway protocol (BGP)instance executed on an edge device to determine the LSP by resolvingnext hop routes for each adjacent forwarding switch, and wherein theforwarding switches do not autonomously determine the one or more nexthop routes of the bypass LSP.
 2. The apparatus as recited in claim 1,wherein the network controller configures one or more of the forwardingswitches in a multi-chassis link aggregation group (MC-LAG).
 3. Theapparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the network controlleridentifies the network topology of the communication network using alink layer discovery protocol (LLDP).
 4. The apparatus as recited inclaim 1, wherein the network controller determines the LSP using atleast one of a least cost routing algorithm, a dijkstra routingalgorithm, a geographic routing algorithm, hierarchal routing algorithm,or a multipath routing algorithm.
 5. The apparatus as recited in claim1, wherein the network controller comprises a software defined network(SDN) controller.
 6. A network control method comprising: analyzing, bya network controller, a plurality of interconnections between aplurality of forwarding switches of a communication network to identifya network topology of the communication network; identifying the networktopology of the communication network using a link layer discoveryprotocol (LLDP); determining, by the network controller, at least onelabel switched path (LSP) between the forwarding switches, the LSPcomprising one or more next hop routes each defining a forwardingaddress associated with one forwarding switch to an adjacent forwardingswitch; determining at least one bypass LSP that is redundant to theLSP; executing, by each forwarding switch, at least one of a LinkAggregation Control Protocol (LACP) and a Bidirectional ForwardingDetection (BFD) to detect a failure in the LSP and perform switchover tothe bypass LSP; transmitting, by the network controller, the next hoproutes to the forwarding switches, the forwarding switches using thenext hop routes of the bypass LSP to route packets through the networkaccording to a multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) protocol; wrapping,by the network controller, a time-to-live (TTL) exceeded packet in auniform datagram protocol (UDP) tunnel that directs the TTL exceededpacket to an ingress switch associated with the at least one LSP; andinterfacing, by a route reflector (RR) configured in the networkcontroller, with a border gateway protocol (BGP) instance executed on anedge device to determine the LSP by resolving next hop routes for eachadjacent forwarding switch, wherein the forwarding switches do notautonomously determine the next hop routes of the bypass LSP.
 7. Thenetwork control method as recited in claim 6, further comprisingconfiguring one or more of the forwarding switches in a multi-chassislink aggregation group (MC-LAG).
 8. The network control method asrecited in claim 6, further comprising determining the LSP using atleast one of a least cost routing algorithm, a dijkstra routingalgorithm, a geographic routing algorithm, hierarchal routing algorithm,or a multipath routing algorithm.
 9. A communication network systemcomprising: a plurality of forwarding switches interconnected with oneanother; and a network controller comprising at least one processor andat least one memory to store a routing configuration application that isexecuted by the at least one processor to: analyze a plurality ofinterconnections between the plurality of forwarding switches of acommunication network to identify a network topology of thecommunication network, determine at least one label switched path (LSP)between the forwarding switches, the LSP comprising one or more next hoproutes each defining a forwarding address associated with one forwardingswitch to an adjacent forwarding switch; determine at least one bypassLSP that is redundant to the one LSP determined by the routingconfiguration application, wherein each forwarding switch executes atleast one of a Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP) and aBidirectional Forwarding Detection (BFD) to detect a failure in the oneLSP and perform switchover to the bypass LSP; and transmit the next hoproutes of the bypass LSP to the forwarding switches in response to aquery from the forwarding switches after the forwarding switches havereceived packets, the forwarding switches using the next hop routes ofthe bypass LSP to route the packets through the network according to amultiprotocol label switching (MPLS) protocol, wherein the networkcontroller comprises a route reflector (RR) function that interfaceswith a border gateway protocol (BGP) instance executed on an edge deviceto determine the LSP by resolving next hop routes for each adjacentforwarding switch, and wherein the forwarding switches do notautonomously determine the next hop routes of the bypass LSP.